Fairy Tales
by Opal Roseblossom
Summary: One night Holly's daughter asks for a bedtime story. Unable to think of one, she talks of dragons and an imprisoned princesses, all of who aren't quite what they seem. Artemis/Holly fluff.


Fairy Tales

"Mommy, can I have a story before I go to bed?" The small girl looked up anxiously at her mother, her wide eyes batted hopefully.

"A story, you've heard all of the good stories," the woman smiled.

"Puhleeese? Make one up then!"

The woman scrunched up her face comically, inspiring a laugh from her child. "I've got one."

"Once upon a time, there was a girl."

"A princess?" Her daughter asked.

The mother chuckled, "I guess you could say that. Her father was the head of the Council of Haven, a commander in something called the LEP. The princess desperately wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, but girls weren't allowed. And her father had died a long time ago, her mother too, so there was no one to help her. But she tried to assist Haven as much as she could, even though the other Lords and Ladies didn't like it much."

"Well that's not very fair."

"No, no it's not. The princess tried not to complain, though, because she was doing what she wanted to. Unfortunately, one day the princess was kidnapped by a dragon."

The little girl gasped, "Not a horribly mean one, I hope."

The woman sighed, "Well, it all depends on your matter of perspective. The dragon took her to his lair, and acted quite cruel indeed. He lived in a different country, filled with people who, where the princess came from, were considered barbarians. They destroyed the earth, they killed each other, they were stupid and dishonourable, and they smelled like mud. But there were a lot of rules that the princess' countrymen had to obey."

"And so the dragon demanded that the people of Haven give him gold, because dragons are greedy and they love gold. You see, nobody loves dragons, and gold is so shiny and beautiful that they think that it will make them feel better. But it never does. The people of Haven, bound by the laws of their country, had to obey."

"The dragon held the princess, giving her almost no food and water and foiling and plans for rescue."

The girl was tugging on her mother's sleeve.

"Yes, dear?"

"Will a prince save her?"

She shook her head, "No, though the princess hoped so. She waited and wished and dreamed, but no one could defeat the clever dragon and his minions. The princess' people tried everything, they even sent in a troll to try and beat the dragon's black knight. But to no avail."

"They finally decided that they would have to give the dragon the gold, they couldn't let the poor princess die. The dragon received it, all of it. She had never seen him so joyous. The girl racked her brain; she couldn't let this greedy monster keep all of the gold! Her people needed it. So, before she was released, she struck a deal with him."

"With that _beast_?" Her daughter looked absolutely appalled.

"Of course, she would do anything for Haven. The princess agreed to heal the dragon's mother in exchange for some of the gold."

"His _mother, _that doesn't sound too bad."

"No, it really isn't. Dragons have feelings, just like us. And this dragon's mother had been sick for a very long time. The princess did so, somewhat surprised by the strange goodness she had found inside a creature that was so hateful and selfish. But she didn't consider it long, and resumed hating the monster that kidnapped her with a passion. And as soon as she was out of the lair, the LEP prepared to kill the dragon."

"But, no, they couldn't!" The girl's face was stricken, "He's obviously not evil. They... they just _couldn't._"

"They did try to kill him, they sent him a bomb. But the dragon managed to outwit them. No one really knows how he did it, though he claims it was by falling asleep."

"Falling asleep?" Her daughter looked confused.

The mother smiled fondly. "Yes, the dragon was peculiar that way. And the princess returned to Haven, and continued to hate the dragon with a passion, until..."

"Until?" The child was very curious.

"Until a witch came and attacked her home. The entire LEP thought that it was the dragon back for more, but it wasn't. But this wicked witch, and her companion, the wizard, were very powerful. The only person who was clever enough to defeat them was the dragon. But the dragon would never do anything without some payment."

"Did he want more gold?"

"No, he surprised them all by asking for a favour in return. He wanted them to help find his father. The princess agreed, reluctantly, she hated this monster with all of her heart. And yet, as they defeated the witch and rescued his father, she found herself realizing that the dragon wasn't so bad after all."

The girl piped up eagerly, "I could have told her _that."_

"So you could have, but the dragon didn't even know it himself at the time. Soon enough the princess found herself in misshape after misshape with the dragon. They saved each other's lives more than they could count. They wronged each other and righted each other. They walked through adventures, growing up. The princess had a great affect on the monster. And slowly the charm wore off and the princess saw what the dragon really was."

"Was he a prince? Did a witch cast a spell on him?"

The woman stopped to think for a second. "No, not exactly, he wasn't the knight in shining armour that she had once wished for. But he was a person. She got to thinking that maybe she didn't need a prince after all, and that maybe he would do. He was kind, in his own way. Sometimes he forgot and acted like a dragon, and those times the fire burned her, but it really was all worth it."

"As for the witch, life is hardly that simple. It was circumstance that spelled him and turned him bad, nothing else. "

"The princess began to see the barbarian country for what it really was. All of the death and destruction she had seen before was replaced by a vision of a world so full of love. In the dragon's world a princess could rule, and often did. The princess remembered that where she lived you were what your parents were. Here it was different, anyone could be what they wanted, if they tried hard enough. The love filled the air. This, as a result, caused all sorts of bad emotions. You had to watch out for hate, jealousy, greed, lust, and everything else that made it seem like a horrible place. But still, there was a sort of perfect desperation to it, and no one could ever let another person they loved go." The woman watched her child drift off, her eyes closing lightly. The girl was losing interest, not understanding. The mother whispered the last bits of the story.

"So the princess decided to stay with the dragon, because she found herself molding into him and his kingdom, and she could not leave him, no matter how hard she tried. And they lived happily, for a time. It would come to an end, but to the princess, it was enough."

She kissed her daughter on the forehead, and turned to see her husband standing in the doorway, grinning crookedly. She met his eyes, and inexplicably began to cry. He grabbed her hand and led her out into the hall.

"I'm a dragon now, am I?" He smiled and wiped the tears from his wife's eyes. He pulled her close to him, hugging her tightly.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips lightly. She then whispered into his ear, "It's enough, for now."

**AN: Hi all. This was written a long time ago, but I decided to post it on now. **

**I am currently writing NaNoWriMo, so I don't have much fanfiction time. XD Haha, wish me luck! ********  
As usual, constructive criticism would be adored. **


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